Vegas Vacation

I know I am super-late in posting about our trip to Vegas, but I needed to wait until our friends told their families that they got married in Vegas. Yes, that's right - married in Vegas! How much fun is that?!?

So 3 other couples joined Christopher and I in Las Vegas the week following a trade show I was working at Mandalay Bay. Out of the 4 couples, 1 wasn't married and prior to the trip I was scheming as to how we could convince them to get hitched. (BTW - the couple had been together for 9 years I believe, so they were practically married as it was) But these two had it planned all along - and it's a good thing too because my plans were all pretty weak - most involved pumping them full of cocktails and insisting that they accompany Christopher and I to a cheesy wedding chapel to renew our vows, hoping to pull off a drunken bait & switch.

One afternoon the (newlywed) couple met the rest of us us by the pool at the Bellagio (fabulous pools with several water temperatures available to please everyone. My only complaint would be that they're too shallow, but I've found this in other hotels in Vegas as well and wonder if it's a preventive measure to keep the drunks from drowning...) . After we asked what they had done that afternoon they responded with an oh-so-casual "walked around a bit, got married". Needless to say, we were all quite excited and ordered some fancy poolside cocktails to celebrate :)

After so many trips to Vegas, I finally got around to riding the rides at the Stratosphere. Christopher and I rode all three:

• Big Shot: shoots you up 160 ft in the air, from the platform on the Stratosphere 921 ft high
• X-Scream: a large roller-coaster-type car that teeters back and forth, erratically dangling you over the edge (this one made me the most uncomfortable - I was quite glad when it was over)
• Insanity: sort of reminds me of those circular-swing rides like Swing of the Century at Canada's Wonderland, except over 900 ft high

I love amusement park rides - when I was younger I used to get a season pass to Canada's Wonderland. But the rides at the Stratosphere made my heart rate race and my palms sweatier than anything I've ever been on before. If you're a thrill seeker I totally recommend them!

I have yet to visit the Six Flags in Agawam, Massachusetts (about 40 minutes from our house), but it is definitely on the to-do list for this summer.